Overhead-trolley apparatus.



W. H. KEMPTON. OVERHEAD TROLLEY APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, 1912.

L1$$fil Patented Jan.5,1915.

WILLARD H. KEMPTON, 0F MANSFIELD, OHIOfASSIG-NQR TO THE OHIU BRASS COM- IPANY, 0F MANSFIELD, OHIO, ACORPORATION 015 NEW JERSEY.

OVERHEAD-,TROLLJEY emanates.

master.

' Specification of Letters :Pateiit. v

Patented Jan. 55, this,

Application filed February 26, 1912. Serial No. eraser.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VVILLARD KEMP- TON, a citizen of the United-States, residing at Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have made new and useful Improvements in Overhead-Trolley Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

'ltlly invention relates to overhead apparatus for electric railways, and has more particular reference to apparatus of the kind generally known as frogs, crossings, and like devices, to which the trolley wire is attached.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved ,devioe which will be extremely simple and durable in construction, and effective and efiicient in operation.

Another objectof mv invention is to provide an improved trolley frog embodying a member to which the trolley wire is attached, and a wear member or extension detaohably" interlocked therewith without the aid of separate fastening members, such as screws, bolts, and the like; my object being further to so design these parts that they may be cast ready for installation anduse,

and to thereby eliminate the necessity of expensive machine work.

To the attainment of these ends, and the.

accomplishment'of other new and useful obje'ets hereinafter appearing, my invention consists in the features of novelty-disclosed in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described .and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawing, which illustrates .one example of my inventiomand in which Figure 1 is a topipl'an View of a piece of overhead trolley apparatusv commonly known as 'a frog, wherein my inventicn'is embodied. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in side elevation of the end porticn thereof; Fig.3 is a perspectiye view of the detachable ti F tom plan iew of said tip; Fig. 5 is a sectional View on line 55 of Fig. 2; rige is a sectional View on line 6-'6 of Fig. 2.

lln the drawing T have illustrated my in vention as embodied in a piece of apparatus generally known as a frog, the function of which is generally to form a connecting point in the trolley wire from which a branch wire may be led off. However, it

will be obvious to one skilled in the art,

1g. 4 is a bot-,

, after having obtained, an understanding of my invention from the disclosures hereinmade, that my invention is equally as applicable to overhead apparatus used for other purposes, such, for instance, as section insulators, crossings, splices, and the like.

. The body member A of the frog shown in vthe drawing comprises a single'metal casting having laterally projecting loops or eye lugs 1 to which the cross or supporting Wires may be attached. This body casting has a groove or channel 2 for thereception of the main trolley wire 3, and an angularly disposed groove or channel 5 for the branch wire 6. These grooves are generally open at their tops so that the trolleyv wires may be placed therein, and there is a substantially centrally disposed clamping inember 7 for holding the. wires in their proper relation.

In addition to this there may be provided holding the frog in position at these points;

These clamps 8 maybe of any suitable or usual form for the purpose. The metal ad- .jacent the outer ends of the body casting is preferably substantially U-shaped in section, so that the wire receiving channels 2 and 5 will be comparatively deep at' these portions, and the under sides 9 of the metal are round in section'to provide smooth under-running surfaces I for the trolley wheels carried on the cars;- It will be seen by. reference more particularlyvtolFigs. 2 and 5, that there is a more or less thickness of metalli) beneath the trolley wireyat the ends-of the channels, and this necessarily would destroy the continuity of the underrunnin'g surface and cause bumps I which would likely throw the trolley wheel off. These end parts of the casting would I also be themost' subjectedto the wear incident -to the passage of the trolley wheels. These. objections are obviated by the provision of wear members or tip extensions B which are renewable at comparatively small expense, and which are also flexible to a degree sufficient to prevent the sharp bending, or flexin and consequent crystallization and brea age of vthe trolley wire. These tips are preferably"substantially [Ll-shaped in cross section, and their lower edges 11. are made; bendable so that these edges may be bent around'the trolley wire. The inner ends 12, of these tips preferably abut the by tapering the edges 11 thereof, toward'th'e outer ends 13, as shown in Fig 4, so that the underrunning surface at the. outer end practically .merges with the surface of the trolley. wire.=.- .The interlocking connection,

as will. berlater described,-rbetween-the tip members and lthe body. member allows the tip members a slight vertical movement with respect to-- the. body memberu These tip members-add rigidity or stifiness to the portions of-the trolley wire which they embrace. Any-tendencyatherefore, of the trolley wire to make a sharpbend at the end of the body member is thus prevented for the reason that on account of the slight relative movement which the tip-members have they distributethe bendingiaction over a considerably greater length of trolley wire and cause the bends to be more gradual, thus effectually overcoming any tendency for thewire to. crystallize and: break.

The walls 1450f the'wire channelslise considerably' above the wire. inthe channels, and,. as before mentioned, the channels are openat their tips to permit-the entrance of the wire.-

Refe'rring to the drawing it will be seen that each tip member or wear member is provided-with an inclined extension 15 (preferably integral) which projects beyond the end of the tip and into the space between the-wallsl of the channel. At'the end ofthisextensicn is a transverse head or crossbar 16,'which extends into .;a slot. oropening 1! in each wall 14. These slctsiand the head I formed which requires nobolts or screws or other fastening devices, and the tips may be readily removed or replaced. Furthermore, these parts may be formed in the casting and the necessity for a machine work finish is obviated. v

It is-to.. be;understood that my invention may be modified to meet the requirements of other apparatus wherein my invention may be embodied, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown in the drawings.

-What I claim as new is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination Ofl a. body member having a trolley wire channel, slots inthe walls of said' channel, a member attached to the trolley wire in alinement with said channel, an integral extension on said tip, and an integral transverse head on said extension in interlocked engagement with said slots.

2. The improvements herein described, crmprising a body member having an open top groove adapted to permit a trolley wire to be entered therein, and openings in the side walls of said groove above the trolley wire, in combination with a separate tapered tip member adapted to receive the wire, and having a T-shaped' extension projecting between the walls of said wire groove and into interlocked engagement with said openings in the walls of said grooved body member.

3. The improvements herein described,

comprising a cast metal body member having a U-sha ed channel for a trolley wire, the walls 0 said channel rising above the wire, in combination with a flexible wear member, positioned in alinement with and adjacent the end of said channel, and having tapered bendable lips formed around the trolley wire, openings in the walls of said body and an'integral extension on said wear member in interlocked engagement with said openings, .and removable therefrom only at an angle to the alined position of saidwear member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses, on this 20th day of February D. 1912.

WILLARD H. KEMPTON.

Witnesses:

. J. ROWLAND BROWN,

J. C.\PAI1\TE'R. 

